Bobby Lolley, Executive Director, Home Care Association of Florida: Home-care solutions
Bobby Lolley, Executive Director of the Home Care Association of Florida, wrote the following editorial that appeared in various Florida daily newspapers during February 2011:
Home-care solutions
BY BOBBY LOLLEY, Special CorrespondentPublished in The Tampa Tribune on February 11, 2011
As the state’s legislative session nears, Medicaid reform is one of the biggest issues that legislators will have to address to balance the budget. Florida Medicaid as we know it is unsustainable.
This year, 2.9 million Floridians will receive Medicaid, the health program for individuals and families with low incomes and poor resources, which is jointly funded by the state and federal government. By 2019, that number is expected to swell to 4.8 million because of federal health care reform. Of last year’s $70.4 billion state budget, $20.2 billion, or 28 percent, was spent on Medicaid alone.
If the Legislature is serious about controlling Medicaid costs, it must consider rebalancing long-term care spending, which covers certain health services, nursing home care and health services at home and in the community. Nursing home funding is required by the federal government, yet cheaper home- and community-based services (HCBS) funding is optional.
A 2009 analysis conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons reported that only 14 percent of Florida Medicaid long-term care funding is spent on HCBS compared to a national average of 27 percent. The rest of the funding goes to more costly nursing homes.
Additionally, according to the Florida House of Representatives Health & Human Services Committee, $2.2 billion is appropriated this year to serve 40,000 Floridians in nursing homes, which is an average of $55,000 per person.
In comparison, $1.4 billion will be spent this year to serve 65,123 Floridians at home and in the community at an average cost of $21,497 per person. That is 61 percent of Medicaid’s long-term care budget serving about 25,000 fewer Floridians.
Consider the following cost comparisons, provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to treat patients in their home instead of a nursing home:
• Stroke patient. Home care: $2,478; nursing home: $8,527.
• Heart failure patient. Home care: $1,611; nursing home: $6,462.
• Cardiac bypass with catheterization patient. Home care: $1,778; nursing home: $6,462.
Although nursing homes cost about four times more than home care, Florida has no systemic way to get patients into home care instead of nursing homes, which is the default setting for care. Besides the cost savings that home care provides, studies also generally show that patients prefer to receive care at home instead of in a nursing home, rehabilitation facility or hospital.
The Home Care Association of Florida represents the state’s 2,280 home health agencies that are providing care to 150,000 Floridians in their homes on any given day. The upcoming session provides an ideal opportunity for legislators to address the ever-increasing Medicaid budget by looking to home care as the answer for controlling costs and maintaining quality care for Floridians in their homes.
Bobby Lolley is executive director of the Home Care Association of Florida.
For more information about health insurance and South Florida home care for seniors and other family members, contact Brian Gauthier at A Family Member Home Care(954) 986-5090 or www.afamilymemberhomecare.com.
Home-care solutions
BY BOBBY LOLLEY, Special CorrespondentPublished in The Tampa Tribune on February 11, 2011
As the state’s legislative session nears, Medicaid reform is one of the biggest issues that legislators will have to address to balance the budget. Florida Medicaid as we know it is unsustainable.
This year, 2.9 million Floridians will receive Medicaid, the health program for individuals and families with low incomes and poor resources, which is jointly funded by the state and federal government. By 2019, that number is expected to swell to 4.8 million because of federal health care reform. Of last year’s $70.4 billion state budget, $20.2 billion, or 28 percent, was spent on Medicaid alone.
If the Legislature is serious about controlling Medicaid costs, it must consider rebalancing long-term care spending, which covers certain health services, nursing home care and health services at home and in the community. Nursing home funding is required by the federal government, yet cheaper home- and community-based services (HCBS) funding is optional.
A 2009 analysis conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons reported that only 14 percent of Florida Medicaid long-term care funding is spent on HCBS compared to a national average of 27 percent. The rest of the funding goes to more costly nursing homes.
Additionally, according to the Florida House of Representatives Health & Human Services Committee, $2.2 billion is appropriated this year to serve 40,000 Floridians in nursing homes, which is an average of $55,000 per person.
In comparison, $1.4 billion will be spent this year to serve 65,123 Floridians at home and in the community at an average cost of $21,497 per person. That is 61 percent of Medicaid’s long-term care budget serving about 25,000 fewer Floridians.
Consider the following cost comparisons, provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to treat patients in their home instead of a nursing home:
• Stroke patient. Home care: $2,478; nursing home: $8,527.
• Heart failure patient. Home care: $1,611; nursing home: $6,462.
• Cardiac bypass with catheterization patient. Home care: $1,778; nursing home: $6,462.
Although nursing homes cost about four times more than home care, Florida has no systemic way to get patients into home care instead of nursing homes, which is the default setting for care. Besides the cost savings that home care provides, studies also generally show that patients prefer to receive care at home instead of in a nursing home, rehabilitation facility or hospital.
The Home Care Association of Florida represents the state’s 2,280 home health agencies that are providing care to 150,000 Floridians in their homes on any given day. The upcoming session provides an ideal opportunity for legislators to address the ever-increasing Medicaid budget by looking to home care as the answer for controlling costs and maintaining quality care for Floridians in their homes.
Bobby Lolley is executive director of the Home Care Association of Florida.
For more information about health insurance and South Florida home care for seniors and other family members, contact Brian Gauthier at A Family Member Home Care(954) 986-5090 or www.afamilymemberhomecare.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment